Next time your burgers, salads, puled pork, and favorite Mexican dishes seem to be missing something and needs an oomph of flavor and color, grab some pickled red onions. Your dish will perk right up! They’re sweet, tangy, beautiful, and only take minutes to make.
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If you’ve never made pickled red onions before, stop what you’re doing and get after it. Pickling raw red onions transforms them from sharp and bitter to something zesty and sweet. Their slightly crisp texture and vibrant jewel-toned appearance makes them a simply irresistible condiment!
You’ll love having a jar of these in your fridge to grab at anytime for tacos, burgers, salads, and more. They add a sweet, tangy flavor and pop of color to so many dishes.
Helpful Tips & Possible Variations
- Red Onion. Look for a firm red onion, without blemishes or soft spots. This recipe can also be made with white or yellow onions, but you won’t get that beautiful bright-pink color.
- Vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is my preference for pickled onions, but rice vinegar or white wine vinegar can also be used. Avoid distilled white vinegar and balsamic vinegar for this recipe.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar provides a necessary balance to the acidity of vinegar. Without it, the brine will be way too harsh.
- Change the seasonings. My recipe includes garlic, peppercorns, and a bay leaf, but you could put an Italian spin on it by using herbs like oregano and rosemary. Fresh ginger and star anise would accompany Asian dishes well. A slice of jalapeño or a pinch of red pepper flakes would be great additions if you wanted something spicier. Play with it!
- Make a bigger batch. The recipe written below makes about 2 cups. If you need a larger quantity for a party or potluck, simply double (or triple) the ingredients and store in a bigger jar. (Storage info below.)
Pickled Red Onions
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 clove garlic , peeled and smashed
- 1/2 teaspoon whole mixed peppercorns
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
- Slice a medium red onion to 1/8-inch thickness (ideally with a mandolin for uniformity.)
- Stuff the sliced onions into a 20 ounce mason jar. Place a peeled and smashed garlic clove and 1/2 teaspoon whole rainbow peppercorns in the jar and slide a dried bay leaf in between the onions.
- In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Bring mixture to a boil and whisk until sugar is dissolved, about 30-60 seconds.
- Pour hot mixture over the onions, making sure they're submerged in the liquid.
- Loosely fasten with the lid and set aside to cool to room temperature, then tighten the seal and transfer to the refrigerator.
- The pickled onions are ready to eat once they're bright pink and tender – about 2 hours for very thinly sliced onions, or overnight for thicker sliced onions.
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Nutrition
Other Notes
What to Do with Pickled Red Onions
Oh gosh, so many delicious ways to use pickled onions. They’re such a great condiment to liven up just about any dish. Here are some ideas:
- Pile them on top of a burger. We love them on these burgers.
- Add them to a salad. They pair so well with this orange beet salad.
- Tuck them into a sandwich. These pizza supreme sliders are just begging for some!
- Most Mexican dishes love them. So delicious with cuban pork, beef tacos, cilantro lime rice, pico de gallo, and guacamole.
- Great on a buffet table. Put some out on a sandwich or salad buffet at parties and watch them disappear!
Proper Storage
Store these pickled onions in a sealed glass or ceramic container, not metal or plastic, in the refrigerator. They will keep up to 2 weeks. The longer they’re stored, the onions will eventually lose the two-tone look and be all pink.
More Pickle Recipes:
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Oh my goodness, these things are soOoOo good! My first time making them, but most certainly not my last!
Fantastic! I added in a couple sliced of jalapeno.
I love Panera’s green goddess salad. It has pickled onions on it. I wanted to make my own at home and needed a recipe for pickled onions. Yours is perfection! Now I want to eat them on everything. So easy to make with just a few ingredients.
I heard so much about the red onions. Had to try. So glad I did.
Made these over the weekend to put on top of burgers and they were awesome! We snacked on them, too. Will make again – thank you!
I love this recipe & they are so easy to make. They are really good on sandwiches.
Made these today and they are AMAZING!!!!
Definitely going to be keeping these stocked in my fridge!!